Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomas Regalado has filed lawsuits against 17 property owners in an effort to reverse reductions in market values granted for several major development sites and commercial properties. The lawsuits, filed over two days at the end of July, target companies that received significant decreases in their 2024 property tax bills after the Miami-Dade County Value Adjustment Board approved lower valuations.
The list of defendants includes affiliates of large real estate investment firms such as Blackstone, Simon Property Group, Royal Caribbean Group, Prologis, KAR Properties, Midtown Development, Swire Properties, Melo Group and RER Ventures. These companies own a range of high-profile assets across Miami-Dade County.
Regalado explained that his office is continuing a practice started by former appraiser Pedro Garcia but at a reduced scale. “Last year, my predecessor filed 65 cases,” Regalado told The Real Deal. “We only filed 17 this year. The bottom line is that we are diminishing the number of cases that this agency used to file.”
Despite filing fewer lawsuits than his predecessor, Regalado said he believes the property owners received reductions that were too steep. “Still, the 17 property owners his office is suing ‘got a huge discount,’ and ‘they should not have received that kind of reduction,’” Regalado said. He also noted that negotiations for settlements had already begun with ten of the owners before litigation was initiated.
Shahab Karmely, CEO of KAR Properties—one of the defendants—was the only owner who responded to comment requests from The Real Deal. He criticized how development sites are valued by local authorities: “We have this unfortunate pattern where the value of raw land that produces no income is arbitrarily increased,” Karmely said. “It’s not something that can be mathematically justified.” He added concerns about economic conditions being ignored in valuations: “Every year that passes, they are like, ‘We are going to tax you more.’ We have all these headwinds, but somehow these parcels are worth more. I wish that was the case, but it is not.”
Regalado acknowledged some validity to Karmely’s criticism but argued adjustments made by county officials went too far: “My commitment is to make sure that our team looks at a property’s income, looks at market conditions and tries to settle cases for the benefit of the owners,” he said. “And if they prevail in court, we’re going to respect the decision. We will not appeal at all.”
Among properties named in lawsuits:
– Cruise Terminal A at PortMiami saw its valuation cut from $68.8 million to $53.7 million.
– Dolphin Mall’s value dropped from $603 million to $500 million.
– Blackstone’s portfolio lost nearly $90 million in assessed value.
– Several Midtown Development sites saw multi-million dollar reductions.
– Swire Properties’ former Brickell Avenue site was valued down by over $30 million before being sold.
– Melo Group’s Edgewater site had its valuation reduced by more than $15 million.
– KAR Properties’ Miami River assemblage faced a similar decrease ahead of planned condo projects.
– RER Ventures’ holdings in Coral Gables and Kendall were reduced from over $46 million combined to just $6.5 million.
– Prologis’ Hialeah warehouse dropped from almost $79 million to under $54 million.
These legal actions highlight ongoing disputes between local government officials seeking higher tax revenues and developers or investors contesting what they see as inflated assessments amid changing market conditions.
